title: A comparison of methods for assessing sociopathy in male and female alcoholics.
abstract: This study compared four methods for assessing sociopathy in alcoholics. A total of 79 male and 39 female inpatient alcoholics were administered the following scales: (1) the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) which provides a DSM-III diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (APD) and an antisocial symptom count; (2) the Hare Psychopathy Checklist; (3) the Socialization scale from the California Psychological Inventory (CPI-So); and (4) the MMPI-168 Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) scale. Factor analysis for the four continuous measures (DIS symptom count, Hare, CPI-So, MMPI-168 Pd) resulted in a one factor solution, implying that all four scales measure a single underlying construct. The CPI-So had the highest loading, indicating that this measure has the strongest degree of association with the underlying construct of sociopathy. Results of a discriminant function analysis indicated that only the CPI-So reliably discriminated between alcoholics diagnosed APD and non-APD by the DIS. These findings indicate that CPI-So is a valid and easily administered continuous measure of sociopathy in alcoholic patients.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Service (116B), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut 06516.
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Cooney
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Kadden
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Litt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010556:Personality Tests; D011594:Psychometrics